


my heart is off time

by halfwayalaska



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, M/M, gold is absolutely zero help (please read sonic universe), silver is chronically stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24623716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwayalaska/pseuds/halfwayalaska
Summary: "'Not to derail, but you and your friend were reading the book upside down. It's a folktale from Chun-nan that first originated as an oral tradition. Since it was passed through word of mouth for years before being written, there are countless versions of it. This book details several of them.''Wow, you're like, really smart,' replies Silver, a little dumbfounded and entirely smitten."Mephiles finds Silver having a hard time in the campus library. It goes as well as one would expect.
Relationships: Mephiles the Dark/Silver the Hedgehog
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	my heart is off time

**Author's Note:**

> title is from chaotic by loona <3 please stan
> 
> btw silver says frick bec i think hes dumb and gay and cant say fuck and ALSO he cant keep his little mouth shut...

On the eve before his World Literature exam, Silver finds himself holed up in the campus library with Gold, furiously trying to make sense of an old, dusty book.

Watching nervously, Gold absently twirls a stray strand of fur with a dull claw. As a fellow English major, she felt it was her sworn duty to help Silver out— unfortunately, the alabaster hedgehog was anything but keen on accepting any aid she offered. As guilty as that made her feel, all she had the power to do now was begrudgingly observe Silver attempt to translate some ancient language.

Stubborn as ever, sitting cross-legged in an uncomfortable wooden chair, Silver grumbles as he finds out that Google Translate doesn't even offer a translation for the language he and Gold had assumed the text was in. Actually, further according to Google, the language doesn't even exist. He's beginning to doubt that he picked out the right book. However, instead of admitting to the tenrec next to him that he may have made a mistake, he doubles down.

"Well, I think the browser is broken! The uni's spotty wifi is totally to blame for this," first of all, Silver is using 3G, not the school's free network. Second of all, Gold has the ability to telepathically read his mind— this is probably the worst bluff the hedgehog has pulled yet. She mentally notes that it has now been zero hours since Silver's last shitty lie.

Instead of calling him out, Gold rolls her eyes and plays along. "Sure. Do you want to head back to the dorms, then? The library closes in half an hour and I'm positive a Quizlet with all the answers already exists." Without waiting for an answer, she stands up to begin putting away the various other books strewn about on the cluttered table.

"Whatever. I bet I'll figure this stupid book out while you're cleaning up that mess," boasts Silver, idly scrolling through Instagram rather than re-opening the ancient text. "Hey, did you know—"

Gold is already gone by the time he looks looks up from his phone. In her place stands Mephiles, a subject of Silver's envy. The dark hedgehog has a penchant for world history, acing every exam the professor has ever handed out. Silver can hardly compare— he's just barely passing the class and has received one too many emails from guidance about how he's been in danger of failing on multiple occasions.

Without sparing Silver a glance, Mephiles silently flips through the pages of the book the duo had been struggling with for the past hour. He's wearing a loose hoodie with the university's emblem on it, with a pair of glasses clipped to the hood opening. The drawstrings are tied together in a small bow. It's surprisingly casual; Mephiles always looks so formal in class, it's hard to imagine him as a regular college student.

A moment of quiet passes before Silver gets nervous. Almost sensing this, the other hedgehog speaks up, voice low despite the library being near empty at this point. "Go on. 'Did you know...'— whatever you were saying just a moment ago. Finish that thought."

"I think I was gonna say something like 'Did you know Sonic doesn't actually attend this school?' but I don't think you even know Sonic," mumbles Silver, slightly embarrassed. He twiddles his thumbs to distract himself from Mephiles's looming shadow.

The dark hedgehog hums, the sound on the verge of being agreeable. "Worry not. I know he's the one always loitering around campus. With bright blue quills and remarkable speed, Sonic is quite hard to miss." He pauses, intently looking at the ancient text for a moment before continuing, "I don't think he's currently enrolled in any sort of secondary education, is he?"

"I didn't know you were the type for gossip. But yeah, I don't think he is," Silver says. He's too busy counting the seconds before Gold comes to sweep him up and away from big bad Mephiles. Horrible, scary Mephiles who's too handsome and smart for his own good, sitting in the front of the room and scoring everything right on his clicker.

Looking up from his sweaty palms, Silver finds himself face-to-face with the object of his spite. Mephiles has strange glassy blue eyes. In his claws he holds a flipped version of the book the ivory hedgehog had been struggling with prior to their encounter.

"Not to derail, but you and your friend were reading the book upside down. It's a folktale from Chun-nan that first originated as an oral tradition. Since it was passed through word of mouth for years before being written, there are countless versions of it. This book details several of them."

"Wow, you're like, really smart," replies Silver, a little dumbfounded and entirely smitten. "Where did you, um, learn all that?"

Mephiles rolls his eyes, a surprisingly normal action for him. "It was in the required summer readings for this course," he answers nonchalantly, hardly disturbed by the fact that the alabaster hedgehog had apparently ignored the assigned books.

As Silver reaches out to grab the now-upright book, Mephiles holds it high above his head, claws digging into the panels. He looks slightly apologetic, but soon reconsiders his remorse as the opposing hedgehog stands up to start climbing him.

"I, for the love of Chaos, cannot give you this back. It isn't going to be on the exam. You do not need this," grits out Mephiles in-between readjusting his grip on the book's front panel and swatting Silver's paw away from his shoulder.

Mockingly, in a gruff tone, Silver imitates Mephiles. "' _You_ literally _do not need this_.' Shut the frick up! What if I like, want to read this for fun?" He kicks the dark hedgehog in the shin and tries to snatch the book while Mephiles recovers. It doesn't work.

"If you're reading this for fun then I'm going to reconsider helping you cram for this exam," bites Mephiles, pinching Silver's cheek with his free hand in return for the boot. Pathetically, the shorter hedgehog quits poking at Mephiles in favor of sorely rubbing his cheek.

"I don't need your stupid help. I'm a certified genius, so frick off."

Interrupting their quarrel, a loud beep blares over the library's loudspeakers, followed by an announcement in grainy quality. "Students, please return to your dorms. The library is closing for the night. Again, students, please return to your dorms."

Ears flicking irritably, Silver considers actually saying fuck before sighing defeated and backing off of Mephiles. "Actually, if you're offering help, I would love that. We can make it like, a study-date." Not half-bad— zero points for subtlety though.

"Do not call it a date when I'm about to force you to vigorously read through twenty different documents like it's an APUSH DBQ," mutters Mephiles, lowering his raised paw to set the Chun-nan folktale down. It's a little evil of him to not just put the damn book back on a put-away shelf, but whatever. Silver loves it when people are twisted.

Linking arms with a reluctant Mephiles, the ivory hedgehog hums while dragging his newly appointed love interest out the door.

"You are absolutely gonna love it when I vomit in your toilet because I'm so stressed for the exam. It'll be like, totally romantic."

It's going to be a long night.

**Author's Note:**

> gold just pretends she doesnt have a roommate for the night and goes off the shits
> 
> & SORRY i know theyre like totes ooc but i think mephiles is just a bastard bitch who knows everything ... anyway ty for reading *kisses ur forehead*


End file.
